Browse all content in the Civil War Western Theater Region.
Battle of Ezra Church
July 28, 1864 Taking place on July 28, 1864, in Fulton County, near Atlanta, Georgia, the Battle of Ezra Church was a military engagement between Union forces commanded by Major General Oliver O. Howard and Confederate forces commanded by General John B. Hood during the Atlanta Campaign. In late November 1863, Union forces commanded by…
Battle of Fort DeRussy
March 14, 1864 The Battle of Fort DeRussy, fought on March 14, 1864, was the first engagement of the Red River Campaign during the American Civil War. By the spring of 1864, Confederate Louisiana had shriveled to the northwestern area of the state. The capital had moved to Opelousas in 1862 and then to Shreveport…
Battle of Fort Donelson
February 12–16, 1862 The Battle of Fort Donelson was fought in northern Tennessee, near the Kentucky border, from February 12 through 16, 1862. Union forces of about 25,000 men under the command of Ulysses S. Grant forced the surrender of Fort Donelson and about 13,000 Confederate troops. The victory opened the Cumberland River as a…
Battle of Fort Henry
February 6, 1862 The Battle of Fort Henry was fought in northern Tennessee, near the Kentucky border, on February 6, 1862. Primarily a naval engagement, the battle resulted in few casualties but did open the Tennessee River as a pathway for Federal invasion of the South in the Western Theater of the American Civil War.…
Battle of Fort Pemberton
March 11–18, 1863 Fought between March 11–18, 1863, the Battle of Fort Pemberton was the primary engagement of the Yazoo Pass Expedition. By late 1861, President Abraham Lincoln was pressuring Union commanders in the west to invade the South. In early 1862, Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant's forces gained control of two of the three…
Battle of Fort Sanders
November 29, 1863 When Tennessee seceded from the Union on June 8, 1861, the majority of the population in the eastern part of the state remained loyal to the Union. Consequently, the governor was forced to send military personnel to Knoxville to enforce the vote for secession. Because of the number of loyalists in the…
Battle of Franklin
November 30, 1864 The Battle of Franklin was a military engagement that took place in Williamson County, Tennessee, in and near the town of Franklin, on November 30, 1864, during the Franklin-Nashville Campaign. The battle pitted the Confederate Army of Tennessee, commanded by Lieutenant General John Bell Hood, against a Union army commanded by Major…
Battle of Gilgal Church
June 15, 1864 In late November 1863, Union forces commanded by Major General Ulysses S. Grant successfully lifted Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston's siege of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Union victories at Lookout Mountain (November 24) and Missionary Ridge (November 25) forced Johnston to withdraw thirty miles south to near Dalton, Georgia. In late November 1863, Union…
Battle of Grand Gulf
April 29, 1863 Fought on April 29, 1863, the Battle of Grand Gulf was a naval engagement on the Mississippi River that began Ulysses S. Grant's final assault on Vicksburg. At the onset of the American Civil War, the State of Tennessee comprised the majority of the northern border of the Confederate States of America…
Battle of Hatchie’s Bridge
October 5, 1862 The Battle of Hatchie Bridge, also known as the Battle of Davis’s Bridge and the Battle of Matamora, took place in Hardeman County and McNairy County, Tennessee on October 5, 1862. Union prospects were bright for a successful end of the American Civil War in the early part of 1862. In the…